‹ Back to the text

gahapaticīvaradharo

gahapaticīvaradhara

masc nom sg of gahapaticīvaradhara (adj)

1. wearing robes offered by householders

Built from

• gahapati — root · householder
  From gaha 'house' (√grah 'seize') and pati 'master' (√pā 'protect'); one who holds and protects a household. Cognate: Latin pater 'father'.
• cīvara — stem · robe
  A Pali specialist term for monastic dress, likely from √ci 'gather, arrange'. The textile gathered and arranged for the monk's use.
• dhara — stem · bearing, wearing
  From √dhṛ 'hold, carry'; one who bears or supports something. Related to Sanskrit dhārayati; cognate: English 'dare' (original sense 'hold firm'), Latin firmus 'firm'.

Analysis. gahapaticīvara-dhara: a compound of gahapaticīvara (robes offered by householders; from gahapati 'householder' + cīvara 'robe') and dhara (wearing, bearing), used as an epithet for a monk whose robes come from lay supporters rather than monastic collection.

Etymology. A bahuvrīhi compound: the whole phrase means 'one who bears/wears householder-robes'. Dhara derives from √dhṛ (Sanskrit dhārayati 'holds, bears'), cognate with English 'dare' in its original sense of 'hold firm' and Latin 'firmus'. Gahapati is from gaha 'house' (from √grah 'seize, hold') + pati 'master, lord' (from √pā 'protect', cognate with English 'father' and Latin 'pater'). Cīvara 'robe' is a specialist Pali term for monastic dress, likely related to √ci 'gather, arrange'.

Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.

Lite mode — plain HTML for e-readers and old browsers. Full version